1000 words

coffee makes me jittery

So how do you count cups of coffee? Is it an actual cup that you drink from or is it the cups on the coffee maker? Because multiple cups fit into one cup or mug if you will. I guess it's on the coffee maker. Well, I drank 6 cups by that measure this morning and I am feeling very weird.

Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

Library Closing: "Attention Library Patrons

Central Library will be closing at 5:00 on Saturday, August 7. You may return library materials in the Central drop box until Wednesday, August 11. Beginning on August 12, please return materials to one of our seven branch locations.

The new Central Library will have a grand opening celebration on Saturday, September 18 at 1:00. Plan to bring family and friends as we celebrate the opening of the exceptional new downtown library!"

They have the Internet on computers, now?

Homer J. Simpson

Child safety vehicle laws are changing

INDIANA CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE: "Beginning July 1, 2005, children will be required to ride properly restrained in a child restraint, which can include a belt-positioning booster seat, until they reach their 8th birthday. Children at least 8 years old until their 16th birthday are required to ride properly restrained in a child restraint system or seat belt in all seating positions in all vehicles.

Overview of the new law"

Dave Coulier

Joey from Full House: "You Oughta Know:
Is the Alanis Morissette song 'You Oughta Know' about you?
I've been asked that question a million times and I still have the same answer--'No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know.' I apologize in advance, but I'd like to keep my personal life somewhat private. I will say this, Alanis and I have remained friends and she is one of the friendliest, funniest and most thoughtful people I have ever met."

Money

Anyone got any good ideas on how to make some money on the side? Legally... Even though we decided that I should go back to school and that is taking all of our extra money, I would still like to somehow pay off our car this year. I don't know how it is going to happen, though.

lists

I love list shows. Top 25 whatevers, best 50 whoever, I love the decades...so here's a list for ya:

Top Saturday Morning Cartoons (not necessarily shown on saturday mornings):

10. Scooby Doo - another one I can't sit thru now because I watched so much as a kid. The best ones were where they had celebrity guests like the Globetrotters and Batman and Robin. Plus they had the munchies and thought their dog talked. You do the math.
9. Voltron - The Power Rangers totally ripped this show off. It was fantastic and the first time I had ever seen anything like Anime. Form arms and torso.
8. Tom and Jerry - I can't watch it now because I used to watch it all the time. No dialogue but they could certainly tell a story. Bonus points for showing Droopy cartoons alongside the T&J.
7. Spiderman and his Amazing Friends - Firestar, Iceman and Spiderman. Quite the trio there. I would've watched about anything with Spiderman in it.
6. Mr. T - Aaaaah Mr. T duh-nuh-nuh-nah nuh-nuh-na-na. Mr. T and his gymnastic kids traveling the country fighting crime. Man I miss this show.
5. Smurfs - Who hasn't smurfed someone out with by using this smurfing language? Only three apples high, but they lived in mushrooms. So how big were the apples?
4. Fat Albert - Just sheer awesomeness. Very few made me laugh as hard as Bill Cosby did when I was a kid. I'll always have a special place in my heart for Weird Harold.
3. Transformers - The movie was the end of the run for this show but just a great cast of characters and storylines. Favorite character was Optimus Prime of course. Megatron was an uber-heel too. One of the best villains of all time. Not a bumbling idiot but a dominate serious bad guy. Cool stuff.
2. G. I. Joe - Yo Joe! So many life lessons learned. Too many favorites to name here. Stalker, Duke, Snake Eyes, Snow Job, Qwik Kick, Spirit, Zartan, Cobra Commander, Destro, Serpentor. Man that Serpentor storyline was intense back in the day. They took the dna of a bunch of famous leaders like Genghis Kahn and Alexander and Sgt. Slaughter and made the ultimate leader. Side note - being a special forces unit, how come they were such horrible shots?
1. Superfriends - Meanwhile...back at the hall of justice. Even with the horrible Marvin, Wendy and that stupid dog in the later years this is still the best cartoon. Superman, green lantern, flash, batman and robin, wonder woman, the list just goes on and on. Wonderful villains. Lots of stock footage and crappy dialogue. No one had an internal monologue on this show. Just greatness.

Honorable mention: Kidd Video, M.A.S.K., Thundarr the Barbarian, The Herculoids, Laff-a-lympics, Speed Buggy, Grape Ape, Huckleberry Hound, Hong Kong Phooey

another reason duke is cool

AppleInsider | Duke University freshman to get iPods [Updated]

lions

Are there lions in Israel? You always read about lions coming after sheep in the bible. Do they still roam the land there? When I think of lions I only think of Africa. Actually most animals are African only for me. Africa and Australia are just big zoos, right?

Digital Photo utility

Picasa: Automated Digital Photo Organizer software, instant photo albums, sharing & printing: Download - it's pretty cool

overwhelmed

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed today. There is so much I want to do and learn that I seem to not get any of it done. Do I learn Visual Basic .net or C++ .net? or C# .net? What's the difference? Or do I go back with Java since that is what I will be taking at USI and I am familiar with it? But does it work well with Fox Pro? And do I move from Fox Pro to SQL Server? And I want to do DVD stuff at home, make movies, convert all my old vhs over to dvd. Plus I want to move old 8mm stuff to dvd as well. And then there is music. I'd like to learn how to play guitar and piano and drums and bass guitar and sing and dance and well maybe not sing and dance. Plus I want to figure out how to record music on my computer. But I need stuff like a new sound card and a midi keyboard and better speakers and why is Point of Grace playing on my computer? No, it was Michael English. Anyway, I would have to learn how to use all of these complicated programs to do the music and I want to help Shawn make a CD plus I want to make my own. And there is always time I want and need to spend with my family. And I need to be reading different books and the bible and I want to watch the Cardinals beat the Cubs tonight but I also want to meet with my small group but we haven't met in about a month because we're all so busy. Oh yeah, I have about 4 movies in the queue to be watched plus all of the I love the 90s that I haven't watched yet. I know that some (most?) of this stuff is frivolous and I shouldn't worry about it but it all kind of piles up after a while. I need to run and finish bundling up the limbs and tree things that fell the other day too. This is mostly non-work stuff. Let's just say that work is a mirror of non-work on the amount of things I have on my plate and in my head. So I'm a little tired and irritable and I have to start school sometime next month and somehow add that to the list. No wonder I just want to lie down and take a nap sometimes. Thanks for letting me vent.

hey remember jamie
Posted by Hello

Randy Johnson: Come on down!

Rumors abound about RJ going to some team. The Cardinals are one of those teams. Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please!

wow

Lego Spiderman

portrait

Portrait Illustration Maker - Let's make an original icon!!

This is your life

Now playing: Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown

"This is your life, are you who you wanna be?" - Switchfoot

Do we ever escape who we are in high school? I was considered a geek/nerd (which I clearly am geek not nerd. Big difference!) and I guess that was ok for the time. I hated high school. I really cannot think of any good memories from them. But are we stuck in our allotted role for life? The popular kids in school are still the popular adults in life. They ignore me like I don't exist and buddy up to the other popular kids, unless they need something. I don't know how to explain it. If this is how it's going to be, no thanks. I'll try something else.

I guess my point is can we ever shake the perceptions others have of what or who we are?

Memo to self: Geeks run the world now.

nfl 2k5

ESPN NFL 2K5 will be released on July 20th, in stores July 21st. Price is $19.95. That's cheap.

holiday

Today is Embrace Your Geekness Day. So everyone embrace your inner geek. If you don't have one, then just embrace a geek. They might not like that though.

Goals revisited

We're halfway thru the year and I thouhgt I would take a look at my goals for the year and see what the odds are of completing the one's that are unfinished.

1. dunk a basketball - Still a viable goal. I need to drop about 10 more lbs to be realistic, but I am still shooting for this one

2. pay off car - not going to happen. Not with me going back to school. Unless OMD gives me a gynormous raise and bonus or something. Not going to happen.

3. learn to play one song on the guitar - wow. Shawn, help! I haven't touched the guitar in about 2 1/2 months I think. I should probably focus on learning some kids songs for Abby and Luke. I think they would enjoy that.

4. write a short story - this one is up in the air. I have no idea what I would write about. I have no idea if this one will happen.

5. learn vb.net and sql server 2000 - probably but this changes all the time. I'll say it is a most likely.

6. try to get a kid's book published - well I can actually get a kids book self-published but that costs money so I don't know. I just need to sit down and do this one and mail off the manuscript.

7. do a background study on a book of the bible - I will do this on Amos but my laziness has prevented me so far. This will be a battle. I should probably do this before school starts. That means this month.

8. read 20 books (all different subjects) - well on my way, this one will be easy

9. hit homerun from both sides of the plate in softball - Hopefully this running stuff hasn't zapped my power (what little I have). I may have to hit the weights again. We aren't playing until the fall so that helps.

10. help lead a men's study at church - this one probably will not happen. The class I am taking for school is on Tuesday and that's when the classes at church are.

11. Get on Backatcha! - Does this show even exist anymore?

12. Make a DVD of For Rent (edit it too) - this will happen and it will be soon.

duke

started a duke blog the other day

Uh, what?

Teacher tells pupils to suckle her breasts as punishment: "A TEACHER in a Zimbabwe elementary school has been suspended for giving unruly pupils a choice between being caned or suckling her breasts."

Spiderman 2 - Christian Allegory?

*spoilers ahead, if you haven't seen Spidey 2 then don't read this*

There are a lot of movies out there from which you can glean moral and spiritual parallels. The Matrix and Lord of the Rings come to mind as really good examples. The movie that has spoken to me the most has been Spiderman 2. The struggle that really hit home was how much his given purpose and his personal desires conflicted. He just wanted to live a normal life. The more he struggled with this, the less effective he was in either part of his life. He couldn't get the girl and he couldn't save the world. The more he tried to go it alone, the harder and more frustrating it was until he just gives up. My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart. (Job 17:11)

I find that to be a very telling viewpoint of Christianity at some times. We try to do things alone instead of having others to lean on in our times of need. When he finally decides to fulfill his purpose and save the world, then he receives what his heart desires. The girl. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 10:39) Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

If I ever die to my selfish desires then I too can become a superhero.

now here's a musical I can watch

CNN.com - Star names join Python on Broadway - Jul 7, 2004 - NEW YORK (Reuters) -- David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry and Hank Azaria were named Wednesday as the leading trio for next year's Broadway-bound production of Monty Python's "Spamalot."

"Spamalot," to be directed by Oscar and Tony Award winner Mike Nichols, is billed as "the musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,"' the 1975 comedy directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.

normalcy

Well, we got back from Indianapolis yesterday and had our electricy, cable, and phone all working. That certainly helps the stress level. Next up was the cleanup effort. Called Shawn to borrow his chain saw and they ended up coming over and helping out. We busted thru the cleanup and finished in record time. Now we have a giant pile of limbs in our front yard and I am not sure what we will end up doing with it. At least it is off of our roof and wires. Our phone line is still dangling but there was a limb or two on it so I can see why Insight did not fix it yet. Other than that things are pretty much back to normal I think. The only thing we lost in the fridge so far was half a container of ice cream. The horror.

storm

We are missing the top of our tree in the backyard. Well, not exactly missing. It's on the ground. We have had no electricity since 12:36pm yesterday. Last night was fun as we had no A/C and it stormed again. While we were "sleeping" another limb fell right outside our window. Very loud.

During the first storm it had to be the fastest wind I had ever seen. There are trees and limbs down all over our neighborhood. Amazingly, very few houses were damaged. Laura took some video and some pictures of the storm damage so I'll post some stuff when we get power back at home.

stop using internet explorer

US-CERT: Beware of IE "There are a number of significant vulnerabilities in technologies relating to the IE domain/zone security model, the DHTML object model, MIME-type determination, and ActiveX. It is possible to reduce exposure to these vulnerabilities by using a different Web browser, especially when browsing untrusted sites," US-CERT noted in a vulnerability note.

The gist of the article is that Microsoft's browser is dangerous because it is easily hacked. Use mozilla or firefox or something like that. Opera even.

Dangerous Trend

Happy Birthday to Aaron today. What are you, like 25 or something?

Spiderman 2

Excellent movie. As good as the first. It really built well on the first one. I am ready to see it again.